"Grandpa Chief..." Alvin called out after he arrived in front of a simple house. Although most of the houses in Blue Water Village were just bamboo huts, there were also some proper houses like this one owned by slightly wealthy people.
"Creek..."
With a creaking sound, the door of the house was opened, and an old man with a long white beard and a bald head walked out. Although he looked old, his eyes were lively like a young man. "Oh, brat, it is you. What happened? I got a report that you and your sister were missing from the village for more than two weeks."
Alvin smiled lightly, "That is a long story. I have something to tell you. Can I come in?"
Village Chief Henry nodded, "Of course, come in. There's no need for you to ask for my permission."
Alvin and Henry entered the house, which was not very spacious inside, and after sitting down, Alvin told Henry his decision to let Lyra stay in the orphanage for the time being.
Henry sighed after hearing the whole story, "Well, I do not blame you for this. After all, being isolated by fellow villagers here will only make little Le's childhood miserable... If you are in need of money, you can ask me. Although I am old, I still have some savings..."
Alvin shook his head . If it were just two or ten copper coins, Henry might have been able to help Alvin, but what Alvin needed was basic essence coins, which were equivalent to ten thousand copper coins. Henry might die of a heart attack if Alvin were to mention such a huge price to him.
Alvin was well aware that Henry was just a one star basic realm cultivator, with little to no combat strength left to hunt in the wild due to his aging body.
Even the strong men of the village who were not yet cultivators earned more money than Henry by hunting ordinary animals from the outskirts of the Heavenly Wood Forest. It was only because of his seniority that he was still the chief of Blue Water Village. Otherwise, someone would have already replaced him a long time ago.
"I have some money at home. It will be enough to support Lyra for the time being," Alvin made up an excuse to divert the conversation and asked, "By the way Grandpa, I heard you have a powerful battle technique with you, and anyone who decides to become a hunter from the village can learn it."
Henry snorted, "What powerful technique... It is just a junk that I picked up from the sea when I was young. Its only plus point is that since it is a bow technique, we do not have to engage in close combat with magical beasts while hunting ."
Alvin asked softly after Henry stopped speaking, "Then Grandpa, can I also study it?"
Henry looked at Alvin intently for a moment. "Don't tell me you're planning to become a hunter?"
Alvin scratched his head awkwardly.
Henry didn't ask anything else. He pulled out a wooden box from under the table and retrieved an ancient-looking scroll from inside it. "Since I didn't have the ability to provide food for you, I also don't have the right to stop you from seeking a way to survive. The only thing I can ask is that you don't die out of carelessness. The forest is a place that only allows the survival of the fittest. This rule applies to both animals and humans."
Alvin nodded and received the scroll from Henry's hand. The scroll appeared to be light as a feather despite its thickness.
"You can keep it for two days. Within two days, make a copy for yourself after grasping the intent from this scroll. By the third day, even if you are not able to grasp the intent, you should return the scroll back to me," Henry said while stroking his beard.
Alvin nodded in acknowledgment and stood up. "Thank you, Grandpa. I'll be going then."
"Wait, did you eat something?" Henry asked when he saw Alvin getting up.
Alvin shook his head. He had breakfast at the cafeteria of the law enforcement union in the morning, but since he did not have any money on hand, he had not eaten anything after that.
Henry took out three silver coins from his pocket and placed them into Alvin's hand, "Take it, return the money to me after you come back from the forest."
Alvin did not refuse the money. After all, he indeed needed money not only for buying food but also for buying a good weapon.
Henry sighed as he looked at Alvin's departing figure, "I hope he does not die out there..."
....
On the way, Alvin stopped before the one and only weapon shop in Blue Water Village. The shop was also built using bamboo and there were mostly fishing rods and nets compared to hunting weapons in the store.
"Uncle, how much is that bow?" Alvin asked the shopkeeper as he pointed at a crude bow hanging on the wall.
When the middle aged shopkeeper saw who the kid was, he sneered disdainfully, "What are you doing here, little bastard?"
This middle aged man knew about Alvin's background and he did not hide his disdain toward Alvin at all.
Alvin pointed at the bow once more and asked expressionlessly, "How much?"
"Ten silver coins," the shopkeeper said lazily.
Alvin looked at the three silver coins in his hand and sighed, "Do you have bowstring?"
The shopkeeper scratched his chin impatiently, "Brat, if you do not have money, just go away. I do not have time to play with you."
Alvin slapped one silver coin on the desk before the shopkeeper and asked once again, "Do you have bowstring?"
The shopkeeper looked at the silver coin indifferently and said, "It will cost eight copper per meter."
"What about the cheapest arrows?"
"Five copper per piece."
Alvin calculated the money in his hand and said, "Get me one meter of bowstring and three arrows."
The middle aged shopkeeper received the three silver coins from Alvin's hand and gave him the things he ordered after wrapping them in some polythene like paper, along with the balance of eight copper coins.
After reaching home, Alvin tied the bowstring to a crescent moon shaped bamboo stick he picked up on the way and adjusted the tightness of the string to the point where he could draw it fully with slight resistance.
"Master, is this the bow we are going to use for hunting?" Goldy asked curiously as she stared at the bow from Alvin's shoulder.
Alvin nodded as he picked up a plain bun from the carry bag beside him. "Yeah, for now, we'll have to make do with it. Bamboo is quite flexible, so hopefully, this one will last for a while."